And the Darkness Comprehended It Not

These luminescing stars, two lazy zodiacs
more than what actually exists in front of a
pair of carefully placed mirrors—the first, full-length,
the other, oval & moon-veiled
atop its dark dresser.

Both angled to form the outer edges
of an imaginary sky, where captured
fireflies drift as nameless constellations,
no mythology nor deity to keep them in
place, simply moments reappearing
dimly in a locus of wishes.

Bedridden, a boy
watches this starfield
his sisters had collected earlier along
a ditch bank.
Thoughts glow. He imagines how God …

What I Learned from 52 Cypress Trees in 52 Weeks

I Spent My 60th Year Walking in a Park, Making Art, and Figuring Out What Really Mattered in My Life

In 2008, when unemployment in Riverside, California hit 10.5 percent, owning a staffing business was cause for great concern. To keep my sanity, I started walking. I was fortunate to …

Prairie Spring

Evening and the flat land,
Rich and sombre and always silent;
The miles of fresh-plowed soil,
Heavy and black, full of strength and harshness;
The growing wheat, the growing weeds,

Let’s Brag About California’s Weather While We Still Can

Between Severe Drought and Predictions of Massive Flooding, the Forecast Is Bleak

One of the little joys of being Californian is the opportunity to taunt folks back East about their terrible winter weather. Hey, Boston, how does it feel to have been …

Thinks You Can't

Things You Can’t: A Vet’s Immolation

Your hair was beachrocks
covered in lichen. Seawater
coursed your forehead circled
your crown left salt—
white and flakey wakes
of peaks and troughs.

Your eyes were cloudy. Too much
late …

Why Do Birds Fall in Love?

Bickering Hummingbirds and Devoted Albatrosses Can Teach Us a Thing or Two About Courtship and Commitment

On Valentine’s Day, our thoughts inevitably turn to the birds and the bees. And as someone who studies birds, I can tell you our feathered friends have much to teach …